Danica Patrick’s Must-Hear Healthy Message

In her late teens and early 20s, race car driver Danica Patrick watched her grandmother struggle to breathe as she battled Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a deadly condition that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

"She was in her mid-60s, on oxygen and in a wheelchair," says Patrick. "When I was in my teens and going out, I wasn't very interested in going to grandma's. Now, I look back and think about how nice it would be to know her in a mature way and ask her lots of questions. I think about the things that went wrong with her and I don't want that to happen to me."

And she doesn't want it to happen to you either. This year, Patrick is racing both the Indy and NASCAR circuit (her first time doing both!), but is finding time to spread awareness about COPD.

She took a few minutes Thursday morning to talk to HealthySelf about how women can protect themselves from COPD -- which is America's fourth leading cause of death, killing more people each year than breast cancer and diabetes combined -- and how she stays healthy and fit.

I

t’s important to know that COPD is not just an old lady disease. You’re at risk if you’re over 35 or have

smoked more than 100 cigarettes in your life (yes, even if they were just “social” cigarettes). Smoking causes 90 percent of COPD deaths — and this includes secondhand smoke (so if mom or dad smoked when you were a kid, you could be at risk).

The first step is awareness, according to Patrick. She urges everyone to go to DRIVE4COPD.com and answer a few simple questions (you don’t even need to register!) to determine your risk factors.

“Take this information to your doctor and start a conversation,” she says. “And be aware of the symptoms like shortness of breath and coughing up phlegm. Those are really big signs. We tend to write them off as we get older — Oh, I’m 30 and I’m not what I used to be. That’s not true at all, 30 is the new 10! You should still feel healthy and able to do the things you used to do.”

During the season, to keep her body healthy and fit, Danica does 20 minutes of interval training a day, and hits the weights for 30 minutes three times a week. On top of that, she’s racing — which is a far harder workout

(hello, G-forces!)

than cruising around town in your Honda.

But as the racing season comes to a close for the winter, Danica takes it easy to let her muscles recover. “I really like to do yoga in the winter. Flexibility is something that often gets a little overlooked, but it can really prevent injury.”

After a few weeks, though, she inevitably gets back into her regular routine. “You know, when I feel like a whale.”